Study finds cities growing more compactly can improve people's access to clean water, sanitation

This can be done just by considering the shape of a city, no need to invest more money or build more infrastructure, but only considering the location of where that happens, Prieto-Curiel said.

Cities growing more densely rather than expanding outward could help 220 million people gain access to piped water and 190 million to sewage systems, according to a new analysis of 100 cities across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Findings published in the journal Nature Cities show that water bills are 75 per cent higher in sprawling cities compared to compact ones, and access to piped water drops by 50 per cent in more dispersed urban areas.

Researchers from Austria's Complexity Science Hub and the World Bank also found that residents in outer neighbourhoods have 40 per cent less access to critical infrastructure, compared to those living closer to the city centre.

The team modelled scenarios for urban expansion and found that cities expanding outward rather than growing more compactly can significantly impact people's access to clean water and basic sanitation.

''If cities expand through compact growth rather than horizontal expansion, 220 million more people could gain access to piped water, and 190 million more people could gain access to sewage services,'' the authors wrote.

Lead author Rafael Prieto-Curiel from Complexity Science Hub said, ''Our analysis shows that effective planning can significantly enhance access to water and sanitation. Compact, walkable neighbourhoods with adequate density aren't just environmentally sustainable. They ensure that basic services are available to everyone.'' ''Water scarcity gets a lot of attention, but urban form is something we can actually control through planning and policy,'' Prieto-Curiel said.

Urban populations across Africa and Asia are expected to grow substantially by 2050 -- tripling and increasing by half, respectively -- demanding considerable planning efforts, the researchers said.

Cities in Africa are already nearly twice as sprawling as those in Asia, with only 12 per cent of the residents living in central areas, compared to 23 per cent in Asia, they added.

''Basically, our work shows that, by building cities better, we would be able to increase access to water and sanitation services. This can be done just by considering the shape of a city, no need to invest more money or build more infrastructure, but only considering the location of where that happens,'' Prieto-Curiel said.

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